


A Starship Tour

by RoyHankins



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018), Star Trek
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/F, I just felt like She Ra and Star Trek had to mix, fluff?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:02:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24495415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoyHankins/pseuds/RoyHankins
Summary: Things have begun to quiet down on the USS Etheria. When their new Chief of Security is beamed aboard, Lieutenant Adora is given the task of showing the new crewmate around the ship. A task she's happy to do, until it becomes clear the new officer is someone from her past.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 61





	A Starship Tour

“Captains Log, stardate 60530.1. After many months of increased tensions, this week has been one of peace for the crew. The only event of note will be occurring in the next several hours. After Chief of Security Adam received the clearance to transfer to the _USS Eternia_ , his replacement will be arriving by transporter shortly. For the task of introducing our new staff member to the rest of the crew, I will be assigning Lieutenant Adora. Whether she forgives me for this or not, I cannot say.” A noise sounded out throughout the captain’s quarters, one that indicated someone was waiting outside the door. “End log. You’re free to enter, Lieutenant.”

The door to the room slid open, and the person who walked in was one who would catch anyone’s eyes, even in Starfleet. Standing at nearly six and a half feet tall, the woman was stunning, with blonde hair pulled into a ponytail, done in such a way to elicit something like a pompadour in the front. She was wearing a Red Starfleet uniform with enough pips on the collar to signify her station. Her muscular frame filled out the clothing well, and the effortless power and confidence she conveyed with every step made her seem like an Amazon warrior from Earth myth brought to life. But as she looked at the person who had summoned her, the officer’s face only displayed curiosity for why she had been summoned. “Captain?”

Alter taking a small breath to prepare herself for the outcome of what was going to come next, the captain turned around in her chair to face her subordinate. Captain Glimmer of the _USS Etheria_ was not nearly as tall as her second in command, to the point where standing next to each other, Glimmer’s head barely reached her friend’s shoulders. She wore the same color uniform as Adora, her own wider, plusher build filling it out quite differently. “Adora, when it’s just us, you can drop the titles.” She’d told her lieutenant that numerous times, and it was unclear if she’d ever actually follow the advice. “Adam’s replacement is coming soon, and I decided you would be the one to show them around the ship.” Glimmer did her best to keep her voice carefully neutral, to avoid what she wasn’t saying.

Luckily for her, Adora had all the listening skills of a deaf Klingon. Completely missing any hesitation or deception, Adora grinned and gave her captain a thumbs up. “You got it! I’ll head down there now.” Before Glimmer could even attempt to reply, Adora had left the room once more. Glimmer let out a relieved sigh, for once happy with her lieutenant’s generally substandard social skills. Of course, she knew that just meant she’d be getting an earful about this later rather than sooner. Regardless, Glimmer knew it would be for the best.

It didn’t take long for Adora to move throughout the ship, heading from the captain’s quarters to the transporter room in what felt like the blink of an eye. The ship’s Executive Officer had a skip in her step, she always loved getting to meet new crew members. The most recent new arrival at the ship was the Chief Engineer, Hordak, the only other person in the room with Adora as they waited for the signal to beam up their new crewmate. “...” No matter how much Adora stared at him, Hordak’s eyes were reserved for his work. She didn’t know much about the man, since he didn’t talk to anyone unless required, with the exception of the Chief Science Officer. She’d heard rumors that he’d been assimilated into the Borg and managed to escape, but Adora had no clue how true they were. Still, the man seemed good at his job, even if he was antisocial. There was a sound from a nearby console, and after studying it closely and fiddling with the controls, Hordak growled, “They’re ready to beam her over.” That was news to Adora, Glimmer hadn’t mentioned the new crewmate’s gender, and the _Etheria_ was already a ship with more women than men. “Standing by, ready to receive transport.”

Adora watched as the device activated, and where there was once empty space, light began to illuminate and then coagulate. It gathered together into the rough outline of a person, but as the light faded into fur and flesh, the shape grew more detailed. Fairly short, with brown fur and darker brown hair on her head, ears and face like an Earth cat. Adora knew the species right away, a Caitian, but it was more than that. She tried to deny it, but the more the figure became distinct in her yellow Starfleet uniform, the more Adora had to accept the truth. Even as the transport finished and her heterochromatic eyes fully sealed her identity, the woman spoke the words that Adora knew would be the first from her mouth. “Hey Adora.”

There was no need to ask for a name. Adora already had it. A complex bundle of emotions were welling up in her heart, too gnarled and tangled to immediately tell which was which. Breathless, she muttered a reply. “Catra.” The new Chief of Security stepped off the transported pad and looked around the room.

“Yeesh, looks like you guys _really_ need my help. No passcodes, no security questions, not even a blood test to make sure I’m not a Changeling,” Catra scoffed. Then her eyes moved to the collar of Adora’s uniform and narrowed. “You made Lieutenant? Good to see having friends in the right places can get you anywhere you want to go.”

Adora didn’t miss the implication of nepotism from Catra, but before she could tell her off, someone else beat her to it. “Are you implying incompetence from me?” Hordak hissed, looking at the new arrival with venom in his eyes. “You were transported here from a secure Federation Facility. Adding security protocols to transporter arrivals would be time intensive as well as unnecessary.” This was the first time Adora had ever seen Hordak’s temper, something she’d only ever heard about in whispers from her friends. While his voice quite raised into a yell, his rage was evident from every word.

If Catra was perturbed in the slightest by the outburst, she didn’t show it. Instead, she cocked an eyebrow up and looked the Chief Engineer over like he was a particularly interesting piece of furniture. “Trust me, if I was from a terrorist organization or a hostile foreign power, as things stand I could infiltrate this ship without any issues.” It looked like Hordak was going to spit out a reply, but Catra continued, cutting him off. “With the right equipment, I could falsify the source of my transmission and make you think it was coming from anywhere I wanted. All I’d need to do was be in the right solar system. Then, you’d beam me up instead of whoever you were supposed to, leaving them disassembled with no hope of reassembly.” Catra explained all of this with a matter-of-fact tone that left no doubts for anyone in the room that she’d done exactly that in the past.

Hordak’s already pale face grew whiter as any blood in it drained out. Adora didn’t blame him. The idea of being killed in a transporter accident was something that scared most people, and engineers more than anyone else. After all, they knew exactly how they could happen. “If everything you’re saying is correct,” Hordak managed to hiss after a short pause, “Then how do I know you are the Chief of Security who has been assigned to the ship? By your own admission, you could easily be from the Dominion, or working with the Romulans.” Neither stellar power was anywhere near where the _Etheria_ was stationed, but that didn’t stop such states from meddling in Federation affairs even this far out.

That said, Adora knew that wasn’t the case. “I can vouch for her, Hordak.” Her eyes were on Catra’s, focused on the glints of yellow and blue gazing back without a hint at what she was thinking. “Captain Glimmer confirmed with me that she would be the new Chief of Security.” Of course, Glimmer had done no such thing, but Hordak didn’t need to know that. Still, the engineer looked like he was about to bring up another argument against Catra, when Adora cut him off. “She’s not a shapeshifter. If she was, she wouldn’t have pointed out that very weakness in our security protocols.” With that settled, Adora gestured to the now silent Hordak and said, “Chief of Security Catra, this is Chief Engineer Hordak. Hordak, Catra.” Adora turned around and started to head for the door. “Come on, you have more members of the crew to antagonize.” Without looking over her shoulder, Adora left the transporter room, confident Catra would be hot on her heels.

“What, do you think I’m still just a little kitten, ready to follow you around?!” Sure enough, Catra’s voice was coming from directly behind Adora, her words bitter. Turning around to look down at her, Adora saw Catra looked as conflicted as Adora felt. “I know you’re a big hotshot lieutenant around here, but I’m not some cadet! Would it kill you to treat me with a little respect?!”

It was just about then that Adora realized she’d made the wrongest of wrong moves by trying to pull a power move. She considered putting her hands on Catra’s shoulders, then rethought that and settled for taking a deep breath and doing her best to sound calmer than she felt. “I’m sorry, Catra. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way. That doesn’t excuse my actions, though. I’m just...a little surprised to see you here, in that uniform.” It looked like her words were mollifying Catra, at least a little. Still, Adora had one last thing to say before they continued the tour. “I respect you, Catra.” Purposefully moving around the hallway so she was standing side-by-side with Catra rather than directly in front of her, Adora gestured to a nearby door. “That’s the medical station, let’s start there.” Catra didn’t appear to have any objections, and followed Adora up to the door without a word.

Before they could even open the door, both were able to make out the words of someone talking inside. “-be more careful. I mean sure, I treasure every moment we can spend together, and you know how much I enjoy my work, but I’m starting to get worried about you.” Even if Adora hadn’t been able to tell from her muffled voice, just the words she chose would have been enough to know who the speaker was.

Sure enough, as the door slid open, they saw Chief Medical Officer Scorpia finishing up the treatment of a patient. Scorpia was about as tall as Adora was, but with even broader shoulders and a build befitting a bodybuilder. Her short white hair seemed to pair well with her blue Starfleet uniform, and Adora didn’t think she’d ever seen her without a smile on her face. If her patient paid much attention to what her doctor had just told her, she didn’t show it. “Well, thanks for the tune-up, but I’ve got to get back to work. I’m still looking over those samples we got from Talmari IV! There’s a unique mineral isotope I found that could lead to untold breakthroughs in science!” The nasaly reply came from Chief Science Officer Entrapta, who had to visit the infirmary more than anyone else on the ship. With long purple hair and her own blue Starfleet uniform, Entrapta tended to draw attention wherever she went on the ship, especially thanks to her generally erratic behavior. Just about then the two noticed the people who’d just walked into the room. Immediately, Entrapta rose from where she’d been being treated for a wound on her arm, dashing through the room up to Catra. She examined her from a number of angles, standing much closer than was socially acceptable. “Fascinating! You’re a Caitian, right? There are some tests that-”

The longer Entrapta stayed that close to Catra, and the longer she was closely observing her, the more of Catra’s fur began to raise up, fluffing up her coat. Adora knew that was a sign she was uncomfortable, but it was looking like Entrapta wasn’t getting the hint. Luckily, Adora knew the science officer as one she could be quite physical with without any objections, so she put her hands on Entrapta’s shoulders and physically moved her away from Catra and back towards Scorpia. “This is Catra, and she’s our new Chief of Security,” Adora said, once she felt the Catra bomb had been successfully defused.

“Pleasure to meet you!” Scorpia boomed, grinning eagerly. “I’m Scorpia, the Chief Medical Officer, and this is Entrapta, the Chief Science Officer. I’ll warn you right now, I am a hugger!” But as Scorpia moved away from where she’d been working on Entrapda, one elbow collided with a tray of tools, sending them sprawling on the floor. Scorpia immediately stopped what she was doing to kneel down and pick them up, but in the process bumped into the table Entrapda had been sitting on before so hard it fell to the floor with a loud *thump*. Looking from the tools she was still trying to gather to the fallen table to Catra, Scorpia explained with an easy laugh, “Sorry about that! Sometimes, it seems like my best talent is in knocking things over!” In Adora’s opinion, that was an understatement. The clumsiness of their doctor was legendary on the ship, and tales of her ‘exploits’ often grew with each retelling.

Turning her attention to Catra, Adora expected her to be annoyed, irate even, at the attention she was getting. She’d say something rude and hurtful and leave before anyone could respond. That was the Catra she knew. But instead Catra looked...reflective, perhaps? Hesitantly, she looked from Entrapta to Scorpia and asked, “Think I could get a raincheck on that hug?” When Scorpia gave an energetic nod, it looked like something in Catra visibly relaxed. “Good. See you both some time later then.” Without Adora making the move first, Catra left the room. Adora followed, and as they walked down the corridor to their next destination, an odd silence formed between them. Apparently it was too much for Catra, who suddenly asked, “What?”

It felt like a loaded question, but it wasn’t overwhelmingly hostile either. Putting her brain into high gear, Adora did her best to think through her response before saying it. “I’m surprised, but in a good way. The Catra I knew wouldn’t have navigated that situation as well as you just did.”

Catra stopped walking, a few feet from the door that held their next point of introduction, though of course Adora knew she wasn’t aware of that. Adora could hear her own heart beating, quickly, in the silence that reigned. All she could think about was how Catra would respond. “Thanks.” It was said softly, like Catra was afraid of what she was saying. Regardless of how it was said, it still soothed Adora’s worries, at least a little. Then, as if to make up for her moment of weakness, Catra asked, “So, where’s the next loser I’m supposed to meet?”

Feeling more at ease, Adora moved up to the room and signalled for the door to open. Catra followed, and both saw the occupant of the room was at her desk, her eyes closed. Some people might mistake it for a nap, but Adora had been told before that she was attempting to ‘be one with the universe’, whatever that meant. “This is Counselor Perfuma.” Adora had more she was going to say, but Perfuma opened her eyes and smiled at her guests. The counselor had long, wavy blonde hair that flowed down from her head and rested on her blue Starfleet uniform. Her freckled complexion practically glowed with happiness, so much that some might be tempted to think that was her default state. Such people, Adora knew, had never seen Perfuma upset, and should be grateful for it.

“That’s right. While Scorpia is here for the crew’s physical health, I’m the one to go to for maintaining your mental health.” Then, Perfuma’s eyes focused more on who was standing next to Adora. “Oh, you must be Catra! I’ve been reading the files your last counselor sent to me. I was hoping to ask you: When would you like our first session to be? I’m free this afternoon, but I’m always happy to work around your schedule.”

While Adora was busy rebooting her brain from what she just heard, Catra ran a hand through her hair while avoiding looking at anything in particular. “I’ll have to double-check, but I think this afternoon should work for me too.” Then, when she looked up at Adora and saw she was still stunned into silence, Catra rolled her eyes and elbowed Adora in the stomach. “Come on,” she said, as she walked out of the room. Adora followed her, but didn’t have anything to say as the two went over to a turbolift to get to the bridge.

There was no other way to take that conversation. Catra...had been going to therapy? That certainly explained a lot of what Adora has seen of her once she’d gotten on the ship. But even taking into account what brief communications had passed between them these last few years, what progress she knew Catra had been making, this was entirely unexpected. Good, of course, but unexpected.

Taking a second to sneak a quick peek at Catra, it looked like she was staring straight ahead, and not scrutinizing Adora at that moment. Adora’s mouth felt dry as a desert, and she just plain didn’t know what to say. Was there anything she should say, any comment she should make, that wouldn’t sound patronizing to Catra? She was spared having to figure that out when the doors opened, and they stepped out onto the bridge of the _Etheria_.

Compared to a lot of other ships, the _Etheria_ ran a lot lighter in terms of crew size, even for at best a medium-sized starship. That was why, as was often the cast, the bridge crew consisted of just three people. They all turned to face Adora and Catra, and as Adora introduced each of them, she pointed to the specific person mentioned. “This is the bridge. That is Helm Officer Frosta, Operations Officer Mermista, and Tactical Officer Bow. Everyone, this is Catra, our new Chief of Security.” Frosta and Mermista looked at Catra with slightly suspicious, skeptical expressions, but Bow looked from her to Adora and back again, mouth agape. Realizing what he’d figured out, Adora quickly stammered out, “Catra, why don’t you talk with Frosta and Mermista, I just realized I had something to tell Bow!”

If Catra noticed anything odd about how Adora was acting, she didn’t show it, only shrugging before heading over to talk with the two officers. Meanwhile, Adora quickly stalked over and grabbed Bow by the shoulder, drawing him to the opposite edge of the bridge to have their conversation. Bow wore his red Starfleet uniform well, the material clinging to his lithe, athletic build. One dark hand ran through his short black hair as he looked at Adora in complete confusion. “Adora,” he whispered, frantic energy filling his voice. “When you said that was Catra, did you mean the same Catra who grew up with you in the Cardassian Neutral Zone?” After a second, Adora nodded, which just seemed to freak out Bow more. “The same Catra who joined the Maquis as a kid with you?” Once again, Adora could only confirm Bow’s suspicions. “The same Catra who got into Starfleet thanks your recommendation?” He got another nod for an answer. Letting out a breath it looked like he’d been holding in, Bow looked over his shoulder at Catra, who seemed to be talking to Frosta and Mermista without any issues, relief clear on his face. “Okay, well I’m glad we’re on the same page then.”

Despite trusting everyone she knew on the ship, Adora hadn’t told anyone outside of Bow and Glimmer about her own past. Growing up in that lawless part of space was nothing to be ashamed of, but being a deserter from a known terrorist organization was. It took a long time for her to gather the courage to tell her friends about her sordid history, but they took it well. But that also meant they knew about Adora’s past with Catra...which also meant Glimmer knew who Adora would be escorting. “Oh, I am going to get some payback for that...” Adora muttered under her breath. Focusing back on Bow, she tried to think of what to tell him exactly, before settling on, “I believe in what she told me before. She left that life, she’s trying to build a new one. She’s...doing so much better than I could have imagined.”

A few years before, Adora had received a coded message out of nowhere, from a person she’d never expected to hear from again. Catra told her she was leaving the Maquis, and had decided to join Starfleet Academy, like Adora had. That said, Catra had been in the organization longer than Adora had when she fled, and Starfleet knew damn well who she was when she applied. The only way they could look past her crimes would be with a letter of recommendation from a trusted member of the Federation. After a lot of thinking, Adora had written just that. Since then, she’d very occasionally gotten a message here or there from Catra, about her progress, and in return Adora would share some details about her own life on a starship.

Settling back into the present, Adora and Bow were both looking at what seemed to be an animated, though still affable, conversation happening across the room. That in and of itself was something. Of everyone on the crew, those two bridge officers tended to rub others the wrong way the most. Frosta was short, but she didn’t let her diminutive frame impede her. The girl was the youngest member of the crew, barely an adult, but she was as casually aggressive as she was intelligent. She tended to throw hands at a moment’s notice, without any necessary ill will involved. Mermista was the opposite end of the spectrum. Taller than average, though not to the same extent as Adora or Scorpia, the woman was a fountain of dry wit and sarcastic remarks. She perpetually seemed bored, and didn’t seem to care if other people’s feelings would be hurt by her words. If Adora had to guess, she would have imagined throwing Catra between the two of them would have led to a violent confrontation before too long. But while she could tell Catra definitely had moments of irritation by the way her fur and tail reacted, she seemed to smoothly deal with it herself, without needing to resort to her claws.

A nearby console beeped, and when Adora looked she saw it was a message from the captain. After reading it, she knew it was time to move on. “Catra, there’s still one last stop on your tour!” Adora called, smiling without even realizing it. “You can talk more with your friends later!” Even from across the bridge, Adora could see a blush settle onto Catra’s face as she glared at Adora, before turning back to her conversation partners and giving them some parting words. Then, she stalked towards Adora and followed her back into the turbolift.

As it started heading down, Catra snapped, “Aren’t we heading the wrong way? I haven’t met the captain yet.” That wasn’t entirely true, in Adora’s opinion, as she’d frequently talked about Glimmer in her messages to Catra.

But that wasn’t the reason they weren’t heading to the captain’s quarters. “We’re heading to your room,” Adora explained. “After I make sure you’re settled there, Captain Glimmer will reach out to you about a serious sit-down meeting between the two of you.” That seemed to settle Catra’s questions, and any hint of a bad mood on her face disappeared into quiet stoicism. Soon, they reached the level of the ship for lodgings, and Adora counted down the numbers until she reached 08. “This is where you’ve been assigned,” she said, as the door opened and they walked inside. It was identical to the other officer’s quarters. Small for a starship, due to the size of the ship, but larger than the dorms back at the academy. Unable to help herself any longer, Adora quirked up one side of her mouth and said, “Pretty big difference from where we used to sleep, huh?” It felt like she was breaking a taboo by mentioning where they came from, but Adora wouldn’t help it any longer.

If Catra took exception to the topic, she didn’t show it. Instead, she moved throughout the space, pacing around as if getting a feel for it, before carefully sitting on the edge of her new bed. “You can say that,” Catra said, sarcasm tinging the edges of her words. “After all, we used to share a room smaller than this bed.”

She said the words easily, but just thinking back to what they referred to made Adora’s heart ache. Part fear, part anger, and part homesickness, as twisted as that was. The fact that Catra could so easily discuss their childhood, while Adora could barely bring it to her mind without pain, was unsettling. Perhaps therapy had given Catra practice in saying those things out loud. Tentatively, Adora stepped closer and sat on the bed, next to Catra. “My favorite part...” she started, the words fighting her every step of the way. “...was you. Sleeping with you, I mean. It was the only thing that made me feel like I wasn’t alone in the world.”

“Same here.” Catra’s reply was immediate, like she’d been waiting for Adora to say what she did. It also made the lightest, most beautifully sweet feeling in the world well up in Adora’s heart. That only intensified as Catra scooted a little closer, so they were only centimeters apart. “I chose to come here for you, you know. To see you.”

Adora had expected as much, but she hadn’t expected Catra to come out and just say it. But it brought another question, one Adora had to ask. “Was that also why you joined Starfleet, because of me?” She did her best to ask it as neutrally as possible.

“No!” Catra’s response was short, but Adora could hear the barbs in it, and realized right away she’d said the wrong thing. But after a few seconds passed for the word to clear through the air, Catra took a breath, seemingly to steady herself, and said something more calmly. “I...get why you’d think that, but no. Honestly, when you ran off to join Starfleet, I was pissed off. It took a long time for that anger to die down. The reason I joined was because...I wanted to start doing good things with my life.” The way she phrased it felt like she was throwing words back at Adora, words both remembered that she’d spat at Catra in anger many years before.

Even though they were sitting right next to each other, it suddenly felt like an enormous distance was between them. The lives they’d led, even if they’d started in the same place, had taken them in drastically different directions. Still, Adora decided to push against that. Feeling a rush of bravery, she took a chance and lowered her hand, letting it rest on top of Catra’s one. After a moment’s hesitation, Catra’s fingers spread open so they could interlock with Adora’s. “I missed you,” Adora said, leaning into Catra so their shoulders touched.

She wondered if Catra’s heart was beating as fast as her’s was. If she was also filled with the strangest feeling in the world, one both binding and empowering at the same time. Any fear that Catra would push back shriveled away when she leaned into Adora, putting her full weight on her, while letting out a scoff. “I missed you too, obviously.” They both turned their heads and met each others eyes, locked for an instant that felt like an eternity. The distance closed, their lips touched, and two people lost themselves in the relief of shared love.


End file.
